Alec Baldwin has won a key legal battle, with prosecutors dropping a charge against him over the deadly shooting of Halyna Hutchins — drastically reducing the potential prison time he faced.
The Santa Fe County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to The Post on Monday that it had dropped the firearm-enhancement rap tied to an involuntary-manslaughter charge the former “30 Rock” star is facing.
That means Baldwin faces a maximum of 18 months in prison for manslaughter — down from the five years he could have gotten before — if convicted.
Lawyers for Baldwin, 64, had argued that the firearm-enhancement charge was “unconstitutional” because it was based on a New Mexico law passed after the deadly October 2021 shooting on the set of “Rust.”
Heather Brewer, a rep for the district attorney, confirmed that the enhancement was removed over the legal argument.
“In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Brewer told The Post.
“The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” Brewer said in the scathing statement.
Legal documents show that the enhancement was formally removed in filings Friday, a week before the star’s first court hearing is scheduled.
The reduced charge also applies to Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the rookie armorer responsible for weapons on the doomed set who was charged alongside Baldwin.
Baldwin’s lawyers argued in a Feb. 10 filing that the enhancement was based on a legal change made May 18, 2022, seven months after mom-of-one cinematographer Hutchins, 42, was shot dead while a scene was being rehearsed.
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“The prosecutors committed a basic legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin under a version of the firearm-enhancement statute that did not exist on the date of the accident,” a court filing from Baldwin’s lawyers said.
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, also filed papers that day saying his team “adopts and incorporates” the same argument.
After Monday’s announcement, Bowles told The Post: “We applaud the decision of the District Attorney to dismiss the gun enhancement and it was the right call, ethically, and on the merits.”
Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, did not respond to a request for comment.
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